mallory



No. 74,392. PATENTED FEB. 11, 1868. G. MALLORY.

HAT.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

GEORGE MALLORY, OF'BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.-

Letters Patent .No. 74,392, dated February 11, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN HATS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Be it known that I, GEORGE M'ALLonY, of Bridgeport, in the county of'Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hats; and that the following is a. full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 represents a side view of ahat constructed according to my invention.

Figure 2 represents a perspective view of one of the springs of the same.

Figure 3 represents a top view of the hat.

. Figure 4 represents an edge view of one of the springs of the same; and

Figure 5 represents a cross-section of the hoop, enlarged.

The object of my invention is to improve hats made from flexible fabrics, such as cloth; and the invention consists of the combination of the brim of the hat with a. drooping spring-hoop, by which I mean a spring'hoop bent or twisted in such manner as to impart a droop to the front and rear of the brim, and an elevation to the sides thereof.

The hot represented in the accompanying drawings embodies my invention, when the hoop is formed of concave-convex wire, the brim being strained and shaped by a spring-hoop, which isboth concave-convex and twisted, so as to give the required droon at the front and rear. The hoop is best formed out of steel wire, which, by passage between rollers,'in a. manner well known to metal-workers, is formed rounding on one side, and bellowing on the other, so that its transverse section is such as is represented at fig. 5. A piece of this concnvo-convex wire, of the proper length to'form the hoop, is cut on, and is bent in-thc following manner: Two vises are secured to a bench, at a distance apart a little less than the length of the piece of wire, so that it can be strained between them, its ends beinggriped simultaneously in both. A forked support is also fi'xed i upon the bench, midway between the vises, and the fork or slit in this support is made just large enough to receive the wire edgewise. The piece of wire'is strained between the vises and inthe fork; then a forked instrument is applied to it, midway between the central support and one of the vises, and the wire is partially twisted by means of this forked instrument, until the required bend is obtained. The instrument is then applied in like manner to the wire at the other side of the central support, and the partial twisting there is made equal to that imparted to the portion of the wire first twisted. The piece is then removed from the vises, and asheetbrass clasp, a, similar to those used for skirt-hoops, is applied to one of its ends. The piece is then inserted in a tubular socket or case, m, formed in the rim of 'the hat, through an opening left for the purpose, and its ends are secured together by the brass clasp. Or the hoop may first be formed, by uniting the ends of the piece by the clasp, and then it may be sewed into a tubular socket in the rim of the hat. When the ends of the hoop are united, it will be found that the hoopbas-the form, edgewise, shown at figs. 2 and 4, and when it is in the hat, the brim is compelled, by the form of the spring, to droop at the front, 6, and rear, 0, as shown at fig. 1,

and to rise at the sides, (Z. I generally apply two hoops to the brim of the hat-body, placing one at about half the breadth of the brim from the crown, as shown at rt, and in forming the hoops, and applying them to the hatbrim, I take care to make them sufliciently lcrgmdnd to so apply them as to strain or stretch the brim by distension.

My invention may be used by forming the hoop of straight untwisted concave-convex wirej also by using flat wire for the hoop, and twisting it 'as above described. The hot possesses the advantage resulting from the light weight of a. concavo-convex hoop, as well as the stylish droop resulting from the twist of the hoop; and besides, the rounded exterior of such a. hoop tends to prevent the material bcaringupon it from wearing away, as 'it has no sharp corner to cut the cloth.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of the brim of a, hat with a drooping hoop, so that the brim is caused to droop at the front and the rear, and to rise at the sides, substantiallyas set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this twenty-seventh day of February, A. D. 1865.

GEORGE MALLORY.

Witnesses:

WM. E. SEELEY, E. S. HAWLEY. 

